1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally directed to mechanical projectors, more specifically bows, compound bows, and compact compound bows.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, it is known in the prior art for a compound bow to have a structural riser with attached flexible limbs and a cam pulley system with cables and a bowstring, wherein the archer holds a handle mounted to the riser in one hand and draws the bowstring with the other hand. The drawing of the bowstring rotates the cams, which reels in the cables causing the limbs to flex and store potential energy. Upon release of the bowstring, the potential energy in the limbs is transferred to an arrow mounted to the bowstring and converted to kinetic energy as the arrow is propelled forward.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,093 for compound bow having a pistol grip by inventor Hamlett filed Jul. 19, 1989 and issued Sep. 18, 1990 is directed to a compound bow including a rigid central body portion having an arrow window recess in one side and a pair of bow limbs fixedly mounted to the front of the body. The central body portion is pivotally mounted to a support assembly for limited floating pivotal movement of the general plane of the bow limbs, bowstring and arrow axis relative to the hand grip member. The hand grip member has a pistol grip and arm support, the grip being mountable at any of several positions along the fore and aft axis of the support assembly for adjustment of the draw length without the necessity of changing pulleys or arrow length. The pivotal float between the support assembly and the bow plane eliminates misaligning torques placed on the arrow allowing greatly increased accuracy. A modified version of the compound bow comprises a frame including a body portion and two tensionable, planar arms extending therefrom, at least two pulleys mounted on the frame, a grip asymmetrically mounted on the body portion and projecting from one side thereof and a forearm support mounted on the body portion which, when the grip is grasped by an archer, cooperates with the grip to help steady the body. When in use, the bow is held at a substantial angle with reference to the vertical.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,371,098 for split limb compact archery bow by inventor Winther filed Aug. 28, 2000 and issued Apr. 16, 2002 is directed to a compound or recurve bow that has split limbs mounted to limb pockets, which are on pivots connected to a handle riser, wherein the riser provides an arrow slot between the upper limbs so the arrow is launched from between the upper limbs. The result is an effective compound or recurve archery bow that is more compact and comparatively lighter than heretofore known.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,729,320 for shoot through bow string arrangement for an archery bow by inventor Edgell filed May 21, 2003 and issued May 4, 2004 is directed to an archery bow including a riser having a sight plane associated therewith; a pair of flexible limbs extending oppositely from the riser, with each limb having a distal end; and a pair of rotating members pivotally coupled to a respective distal end. A rotation controller includes a first saddle and a first string having opposite ends. The first string wraps the first saddle and the opposite ends are connected to a distal end of one of the limbs. The first string is located on opposite sides of the sight plane. A shoot through window includes a second saddle, a third saddle, and a second string wrapping each of the second saddle and the third saddle. The second string is located on opposite sides of the sight plane.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,066,165 for center-fire bow by inventor Perry filed Aug. 18, 2004 and issued Jun. 27, 2006 is directed to a bow including a bow frame with a geometric center, and a window surrounding the geometric center. A bow handle is attached to the bow frame at a position offset from the geometric center, such that a user can fire an arrow through the window, through the geometric center of the bow. A gimbal may be disposed within the window, the bow handle being pivotally attached to the gimbal, so as to allow free pivoting of the bow about two substantially orthogonal axes.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,622,050 for line crossbow conversion kit and hybrid compound bow by inventors Goff and Goff filed May 27, 2011 and issued Jan. 7, 2014 is directed to a kit to convert a compound archery bow into a left or right handed inline (vertical limb) crossbow. The conversion kit includes a mounting plate attachable to a side of the bow riser section to hold a socket to receive a draw-lock bar which can be removed for take-down and storage. The draw-lock bar has a series of laterally spaced bolt holes to attach a grip with a trigger release latch assembly at a selectable draw length. The bar can be rotated and attached to either side of the bow, and the trigger and grip can be reposition within the trigger housing for left, right or horizontal shooting. The string latch assembly has an anti-dryfire lever that is only moved from the blocking position when an arrow is nocked. The kit also provides a hinged cocking stirrup, and a front hand vertical grip on the riser side opposite the draw-bar socket. Also disclosed is a dedicated hybrid compound bow for dedicated use with kit as an inline or traditional crossbow. The hybrid compound bow is made especially. The hybrid bow has no forehand grip, and has a shoot through riser to provide vertical and horizontal centering of the arrow to the string.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,656,899 for barrel cable suppressor by inventors Bednar and Hout filed Jan. 5, 2011 and issued Feb. 25, 2014 is directed to a crossbow comprising a main beam, a trigger mechanism, a bow assembly, and a barrel cable suppressor. First and second cables may pass through a cable slot formed in a barrel member. The first and second cables may be received by first and second cams respectively such that the rotation of the first and second cams in a first direction causes the first and second limbs to be pulled generally inward towards the main beam. The barrel cable suppressor may be positioned at least partially within the cable slot and may at least partially suppresses vibrations and noise caused by the first and second cables when the bowstring is released from the trigger mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,776,770 for bow with adjustable limbs by inventor Batdorf filed Jul. 22, 2011 and issued Jul. 15, 2014 is directed to archery bow adjustment systems that enable adjustment of both the draw weight and the brace height of the bow. The adjustment system includes a plate mounted on an end of a riser of the bow. The plate supports a limb of the bow and is adjustably positionable relative to the riser.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,991,380 for barrel cable suppressor by inventors Bednar and Hout filed Feb. 24, 2014 and issued Mar. 31, 2015 is directed to a grip guard used with a crossbow that has a main beam including a stock and a barrel. The grip guard may have a first wall that is positioned between the stock and the barrel and a second wall that extends outwardly from the main beam. The first wall may have dampening properties to attenuate sounds and vibrations caused by firing the crossbow and the second wall may prevent a user's fingers from inadvertently extending from the handle toward the barrel.
US Patent application 2013/0042848 for dual inverted limb by inventor Trpkovski filed May 25, 2012 and published Feb. 21, 2013 is directed to a bow adapted to shoot a projectile along a direction of flight. The bow includes a riser, a first limb, a second limb, and a drawstring. The riser extends perpendicular to the direction of flight. The riser includes a first mount adjacent a first end and a second mount adjacent a second end of the riser. The first and the second limbs extend along first and second contours from a proximal end to a distal end. The first limb is mounted to the first mount of the riser. The first contour includes a first attachment segment positioned adjacent the first mount. The second limb is mounted to the second mount of the riser. The second contour includes a second attachment segment positioned adjacent the second mount. The drawstring is operably connected to the first and the second limbs adjacent the distal ends. The first and the second attachment segments at least partially extend in the direction of flight from the proximal end to the distal end of the corresponding attachment segment.
US Patent application 2014/0238372 for hybrid compound bow slingshot with ammo receiver and hinged handle by inventor Chirico filed Jan. 16, 2014 and published Aug. 28, 2014 is directed to a hybrid compound bow slingshot. The device utilizes a riser, bow limbs and string that are positioned in a plane perpendicular to the device handle such that the riser, bow limbs and string are horizontally disposed relative to the ground when in use. The handle may be hinged, and is hinged in the same plane as the riser, bow limbs and string. The device may include an arm brace that is offset to the vertical centerline of the handle, and the arm brace may be adjusted for left-handed or right-handed shooters. The device may be used with arrows, and may be configured to utilize shot with an ammo receiver positioned in the string.
US Patent application 2015/0153131 for compact compound bow by inventor Trpkovski filed Dec. 1, 2014 and published Jun. 4, 2015 is directed to a compact compound bow. In various embodiments, the compact compound bow includes a first riser plate and a second riser plate. The bow can further include a first limb and a second limb, the first limb and second limb can be coupled to the first riser plate and the second riser plate. The bow can further include a re-locatable handle configured to be coupled to at least one of the first riser plate or the second riser plate in a first position and coupled to at least one of the first riser plate or the second riser plate in a second position. The re-locatable handle can be rotated 180 degrees from the first position to the second position.
The prior art is limited regarding compound bows including handles that are not built into the riser and, thus, adjust to fit the archer, pivot about an axis parallel to the undrawn bowstring to eliminate torqueing, reduce vibration transferred to the archer's bow-hand, and are ambidextrous. The prior art is further limited regarding handles affixed with an arm brace and a riser that allow arrows an arrow to pass through its geometric center.